U.S. Wildland Fire Service

Spring has arrived! For many parts of the country, that means wildfire activity will increase in the months ahead. In other regions, fire activity is already occurring. Wildland firefighters are preparing across the country. As the seasons change, this is the time for individuals and families to prepare too: • Create defensible space around your home • Remove dry vegetation • Make an evacuation plan • Stay informed on local conditions When individuals prepare, communities are stronger and safer. Find tips to prepare here: nfpa.org/Education-and-… Photo by Scott Butner

Last chance to apply! @Interior is offering up to $20 million through the Slip-on Tanker Pilot Program to help expand local wildland firefighting capacity. These grants help local governments purchase slip-on tanker units that can quickly convert trucks, UTVs, and other vehicles into wildland fire engines when they’re needed most. Stronger local wildfire response means safer communities, better support for first responders, and reduced risk to critical infrastructure. ⏰ Applications close March 23, 2026. Apply here: grants.gov/search-results… Learn more about the program: doi.gov/wildlandfirese… Photo courtesy of Smartsville Fire Protection District 2

The U.S. Wildland Fire Service streamlines wildfire prevention, response, and recovery across more than 500 million acres of public and Tribal lands, strengthening the nation’s resilience. Learn more about the new unified service: doi.gov/wildlandfirese… Photo by @USWFS

Do your part to help prevent wildfires as record heat impacts much of the country this week. According to the @NWS, hundreds of daily temperature records may be set from the West Coast to the Plains. These conditions can accelerate fuels drying and snowpack melting, increasing wildfire risk in many areas. Take a few steps to help prevent wildfires and protect your community: - Check local fire restrictions - Avoid activities that could spark a fire on hot, dry, or windy days - Properly extinguish your campfires – drown, stir, and cold to the touch - Secure tow chains and keep your car tires fully inflated - If debris burning is permissible in your area, keep piles small and burn only under appropriate conditions Small actions can prevent devastating wildfires. Find more tips from @smokey_bear at: smokeybear.com Red Flag Warnings from the NWS can be found here: weather.gov/fire/ Photo by Paul Hensel

Forgot to wear green today? Not us! 🍀 Those green Nomex pants are part of the personal protective equipment wildland firefighters rely on to stay safe on the fireline. Green Nomex: ✅ Fireline ready ✅ St. Patrick’s Day compliant Photo by Daniel Hamilton

Here are a few fire jobs for your Friday! Apply today to join us and work across some of our nation’s most beautiful landscapes. 🔥Lead Wildland Firefighter – Wildland Fire Module (GW 8) Lead and mentor a wildland fire module while directing suppression operations on the fireline. Implement tactics such as establishing firelines, firing operations, and mop-up, coordinate aviation support, and manage crew logistics, vehicles, and equipment to support safe and effective wildfire response. 📍Denali National Park and Preserve - Denali Park, AK 📍Denali National Park and Preserve - Fairbanks, AK 📍Crater Lake National Park - Crater Lake, OR 📍Great Smoky Mountains National Park - Gatlinburg, TN 📍North Cascades National Park - Marblemount, WA 📍North Cascades National Park - Sedro Woolley, WA Apply by 03/20➡️ usajobs.gov/job/858509900 🔥Supervisory Wildland Firefighter – Type 1 Wildland Fire Module (GW 9) Serve as the supervisor of a Type 1 Wildland Fire Module, leading firefighters in preparedness, prevention, monitoring, hazardous fuels reduction, training, prescribed fire, and wildfire response. Work with interagency partners while providing leadership that supports fire response readiness. 📍Buffalo National River - Marble Falls, AR 📍North Cascades National Park - Marblemount, WA 📍North Cascades National Park - Sedro Woolley, WA Apply by 03/24➡️ usajobs.gov/job/858594600 Photo 1 by Jim Henterly at North Cascades National Park Photo 2 by Alex Depue at North Cascades National Park Photo 3 by Jonathon Bell at Crater Lake National Park

From engine crews and hotshot crews to smokejumpers, aviation, dispatch, fire lookouts, and leadership roles, women have served across all areas of the wildland fire profession nationwide. This Women’s History Month, we recognize the women who have shaped wildland fire management and those who continue advancing the mission today. Their expertise, dedication, and commitment strengthen our shared effort to protect communities and public lands. Photo 1: First all-female wildland firefighting crew for the BLM. Photo courtesy of Greg Ely and David Sieber. Photos 2 & 3: Rose Vaughn; when lightning struck close to Rose's lookout station during a severe storm in 1945, she took it upon herself to suppress the fire alone, only 150 yards from her station.

In late February, our wildland firefighters and overhead staff based out of the @lakemeadnps and the Ely District of the @BLMNational completed pile burn operations in northeastern Nevada. Crews treated 22 acres within the Can Young drainage at Great Basin National Park and 1 acre in an administrative area. They then moved to the Ely District near Sacramento Pass, completing approximately 20 acres across the Waking and Sage units. Pile burning reduces hazardous fuels following thinning projects, helping improve aspen stand health and limit pinyon-juniper encroachment. This is just one example of the continued fuels reduction work happening across our @Interior landscapes – demonstrating the efficient value of having an integrated approach to wildland fire management. Photo 1 by K.Dobrescu Photo 2 by J.Gamiao

The @USWFS is hiring a Wildland Firefighter (Aviation-Airtanker Base Manager)!🧑‍🚒✈️ 📈GW 9 💵$72.8K-$94.6K/yr 📌Roswell, NM 📃Permanent 📆3/24/26 Apply here👉usajobs.gov/job/860461100

POV: Your commute includes 3,000 feet of air. Smokejumpers are among the most highly trained wildland firefighters, parachuting into remote areas to provide rapid initial attack on emerging fires. The concept is simple: most wildfires start small. With quick access and immediate action, crews can help keep fires from growing into large, dangerous, devastating blazes. Two @Interior bases employ smokejumpers, one in Boise, Idaho, and one in Fairbanks, Alaska. Most smokejumpers build their foundation on engines, hotshot crews, helitack, and other operational fire roles before pursuing a smokejumper position. Video description: Footage from inside a smokejumper aircraft shows smokejumpers exiting the plane and deploying a parachute. Multiple smokejumpers descend toward rugged desert terrain where a column of wildfire smoke rises in the distance. The video follows the descent and landing as the red parachute settles on the ground near the incident.

@Pyropure @wildlandfireAZ Hello! The details of qualifications and requirements needed for positions will be located in the job announcement on USAJOBS.gov. The position will note if a degree is required.

@USWFS @wildlandfireAZ Can you join without degrees? Or anything I helped fight the redo chediski fire and some other ones. But stopped getting called to fight cause no need for people ?

That moment when you’re glad you said yes to that fire job. It’s Fire Job Friday – curious how you can join us? Check out our current opportunities: usajobs.gov/search/results… Photo by Runnell Wiggins / U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service

Congratulations to the newest Wildland Fire Apprentice graduates! Eleven @Interior apprentices graduated from the Wildland Fire Apprenticeship Advance Academy last month alongside their @forestservice counterparts, marking a major milestone in their careers. This is the second academy they have to complete, the first being the basic academy. The Wildland Firefighter Apprentice Program is designed to develop future leaders in wildland firefighting. Think of it as essentially an all-inclusive package to a wildland firefighting career, but it’s no vacation. Apprentices complete 3,000 hours of paid, on-the-job training while sampling a variety of roles in wildland firefighting. In addition to training at their home unit, apprentices are encouraged to seek temporary assignments with other wildland fire crews across the country, in positions that suit their career interests and goals. This group has invested countless hours in education, technical training, and professional development. Their dedication strengthens the future of wildland fire. Congratulations on this achievement and the journey ahead!

From the Northwoods to the Lone Star State, we’re hiring! Apply to join us as a Wildland Firefighter and be part of a module or crew! You’ll support fire preparedness, fuels and prevention work, active fire suppression, monitoring, and post-fire operations, playing a critical role before, during, and after the flames. 📍Detroit Lakes, MN 📍Brazoria, TX 📍Travis County, TX 📍Necedah, WI Applications close March 13, 2026 ➡️ GW 04/05 Wildland Firefighter: usajobs.gov/job/859439800 Photo by AJ Hoffman

Stronger local wildfire response means safer communities, better support for first responders, and reduced risk to critical infrastructure. Last month, the @Interior announced up to $20 million is available through the Slip-on Tanker Pilot Program to expand local wildland firefighting capacity. Local governments can apply by March 23, 2026, for grants to purchase slip-on tanker units, which can quickly convert trucks, UTVs, and other vehicles into wildland fire engines when they’re needed most. Apply here: grants.gov/search-results… More on the program: doi.gov/wildlandfirese… City of Weed Fire Department responds to a wildfire. City of Weed FD was a previous grant recipient.

Where terrain limits, our wildland fire personnel adapt. Short haul is a specialized technique used in wildland firefighting for rapid, emergency extraction of injured personnel or insertion of firefighters into remote and sometimes technical locations where ground access may be challenging. It’s one of many aviation capabilities that support safe and effective wildland fire operations. Photo courtesy of the National Park Service, short haul at Yosemite National Park.

This is your reminder that not all offices have ceilings. Wildland firefighters and support personnel put in long hours in remarkable places, working to protect communities and the landscapes that define them. The views may be unforgettable, but the mission is what matters most. Keep following along for a closer look at the people, places, and purpose behind wildland fire management, and to learn more about what a career in fire could look like for you. Photo 1: Photo by Rand Snyder / Bureau of Land Management Photo 2: Photo by Michael Harshman / Bureau of Land Management Photo 3: Photo by Robert Messick / Bureau of Land Management Photo 4: Photo by Paul Hensel / U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service

Want to get paid to train, travel, and carry things uphill? Perfect. The Wildland Firefighter Apprenticeship Program builds the next generation of leaders in wildland fire, and we’re hiring. As an apprentice, you’ll receive: ➡️Hybrid education ➡️Comprehensive wildland fire training ➡️3,000 hours of paid work experience ➡️Attendance at the Wildland Fire Training Academy ➡️Real-world experience in wildland fire suppression, fire management, and fire support functions. By the end, you'll have journey-level status as a wildland firefighter. MANY location opportunities, take a look at both links below! GW 03/04/05 - Applications close 03/04/2026: usajobs.gov/job/858131900 📍Locations: Tulelake, CA; Fort Peck, MT; Malta, MT; Roy, MT; Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst, NJ GW 03/04/05 - Applications close 03/05/2026: usajobs.gov/job/858309400 📍Locations: 22 vacancies throughout California, New Mexico, Oregon, Utah, Washington.